REFLECTIONS FROM THE MANILA WORKSHOP: The Philippines

SIGUS.  January 2006.  Book is designed by Non Arkaraprasertkul. Since the late 1940s, international development agencies have promoted programs and policies in tackling poverty issues, and tremendous funds and energy have been invested. What has been the impact after these 35 years? And to us as architects and planners who purport to be experts in spatial issues, what has been the effect on housing?  This theme guided the 2-week SIGUS workshop in Manila, January 2006.  MIT students in partnership with students from the Santo Tomas University of Manila revisited housing projects developed in the late 1970s. The goal was to take a fresh look at housing with as little preconceptions as possible – no in-depth background reading was required nor wanted. The documentation format and approach followed the experience from a previous workshop in Lima, Peru, which focused on squatter settlements from the 1960s and which now are an integral part of the city.